A Story that sticks in the Imagination

As I’m reading 2 separate books about the holocaust currently (Sarah’s Key and The Storyteller), it strikes me like a bolt of lightening that most of my knowledge of the holocaust is about Hitler:  what HITLER did, how HITLER’S regime took over, SS soldiers, concentration camps.  Yes, there’s Schindler’s List, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Night, and others that focus on the victims of Hitler’s horrific crimes against humanity, but the truth remains that the vast majority of my knowledge of the Holocaust comes from my history lessons in my History classes and most of the lessons the teachers taught focused on Hitler and the “story” of the Holocaust from Hitler’s—not perspective, but at least what Hitler did more focusing on the Jews and others Hitler’s regime focused on killing.

I have to ask myself why the history books and teachers focus more on Hitler than the victims.  Why is Hitler’s name more well known than any names of any of heroes, Jewish and non-Jewish, including those who saved Jews (and the others) from destruction?

I don’t have any answers to the Why? question except to say that the only thing I can come up with is that as long as we focus on Hitler’s actions, we don’t have to FEEL.  Yes, Hitler was an evil man and he needed to be taken down a peg, but as long as we focus on him and what his regime did, our feelings about the Holocaust can stay separated from the reality. 

I haven’t begun to FEEL what happened during the Holocaust until I read the STORIES of the victims.  Yes, some of the stories I’ve been reading are works of Historical Fiction (Sarah’s Key and The Storyteller), but the truth remains that whether the story is a true memoir of someone who lived through it or a work of Historical Fiction where the essence of the story is what’s real but not the actual STORY that is told that these stories make readers like me FEEL.

Reading about Hitler is a way of separating myself from the true horror because sure, it’s awful what Hitler did, but since there aren’t any names or real faces of those who suffered, it’s not REAL what Hitler did.  These stories provide faces and names—reality.  And thus, FEELINGS…..

Jodi Picoult has, of course, done it again with her brilliant novel THE STORYTELLER.  I was riveted from beginning to end and I hated that the book came to an end at all.  She talks about how when an author ends a story without a true ending, it leaves the story forever with the reader because it's always in the reader's imagination.  She's so right.  I know a lot of people who hate stories that just end without a clear ending, but I am one who has always enjoyed them.  It's one of the reasons why GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell is so genius.  I have changed my mind 20 different times about the ending of that book and I like every one of my endings!  (Like Josef in THE STORYTELLER trying to write the ending of Minka's story, but can't find one that works....)  It's the reason why I refused, and continue to do so, to read or watch the sequel to GONE WITH THE WIND, SCARLETT.  I like the imaginings in my head of the ending of the original story and I don't want them "ruined" by someone else's imaginings!

As the granddaughter of a Jew myself, I really connected to Sage and her reaction to her grandmother and finally hearing her grandmother's story.  Sadly, my grandmother isn't around anymore for me to hear the whole story, but what I do remember is important and makes me proud of my heritage.

Great job, Jodi.  Great job.  Thanks for the GREAT read....

Dorian Gray and Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler

Ok.  I realize that I probably never would have thought of this if I hadn't been reading both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Gone with the Wind at the same time, but the truth is, I am reading both books at the same time, so I DO see that Scarlett and Dorian have a lot in common!

1.  Both choose to "think about [it] tomorrow"--which, in essence boils down to not thinking about "it" at all because usually when "tomorrow" comes, we have other things pressing that need to be thought about--or put off until....tomorrow!

2.  Both are beautiful.  And they're obsessive about their own youth and beauty--as well as of those around them, but mostly for themselves.  Dorian has always been petted and treated like a little prince because he's handsome--I mean, come one, he has blond, curly hair, and striking blue eyes!!!!  Matthew  McConaughey would make a WONDERFUL Dorian!!!  Yummy!  And Scarlett is very concerned with the fact that she has the smallest waist in the County--16 inches!!!!  And after having Wade, she forces herself into her stays, even though she can't breathe, so she can be back at her original waist-line!  She's very upset that she's had a baby and ruined her tiny figure!  (She's even upset after each child is born about her tiny waist, not just Wade.)  Dorian, of course, sells his soul for his Youth and Beauty. 

3.  Which brings me to the fact that both Scarlett and Dorian sell their souls.  Dorian does it in the second chapter while Scarlett does it after she's gone back home to Tara when the Yankees take Atlanta.  Dorian sees the portrait Basil has painted of him (Dorian) and he's attracted by the youth and beauty of himself in the painting.  To himself, he says that he'd sell his soul if the painting could take the pressures of life while he stays exactly as the painting (he is) at that time.

Scarlett sells her soul when she goes to the abandoned plantations to look for food for the starving mouths looking to her to lead them and feed them.  She's disillusioned because she'd gone home to Tara believing that her mother would take the burdens from her and Scarlett could go back to being the belle of the county with nothing more to worry about than which beaux will flirt with her next.  Rather than peace and tranquility, when she gets home to Tara (after being gone for more than 3 years), she finds that her mother died the day before she got there and her father quickly loses his mind as a result of Ellen's death.  Thus, everyone at Tara is looking to Scarlett to take care of them.  She becomes the master of the plantation--and she's only 19! 

(Another point of comparison between Dorian and Scarlett is that they're both young--I'm not sure what age is considered "coming of age" in Victorian England, but Dorian hasn't "come of age" yet, so he's got to be in his late teens or early twenties.)

So Scarlett goes to the plantations around Tara to look for food.  She finds a vegetable garden by the "darkies'" cabins and soon gobbles down a raddish.  Her empty stomach can't handle the food and she begins to vomit profusely over and over.  As Scarlett is walking home, she declares, "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"  You all know the famous line from the movie.  It's pretty powerful. 

Many might argue that Scarlett sells her soul much sooner in the story.  Maybe back when Ashley won't marry her and she marries Charles Hamilton to spite Ashley.  Or when she actually convinces Ashley to kiss her, admitting that he DOES care for her.  Or at some other earlier point in the story.  But before Scarlett has the moment previously described, she tries very hard to be a good girl.  She isn't really a praying woman, but she at least TRIES to pray.  She tries so hard to be the young, virtuous woman her mother trained her to be.  She feels the same way Rhett does about so many different issues, but she's afraid to say them aloud because of her upbringing--her training--and of what others will say/think of her.

But once she yells, "As God as my witness...," she completely changes.  She soon kills a man (or had that JUST happened?  I don't have my book in front of me to remember which came first).  She quits praying or even pretending to pray.  She becomes hard (there's a quote--again, I don't have my book to quote it...).  When the war is over, she goes to ANY length to fulfill her declaration and to ensure that she and hers never go hungry again--but especially for herself.  She even steals her sister's affianced, Frank Kennedy (whom Scarlett never could stand), because she knows that Frank has the ability to make money and to make it fast.  (And that her sister would never share with the whole family and/or take care of Tara, while Scarlett will--and does.)

She's ruthless.  Just as Dorian is ruthless.  We don't get as much detail about what Dorian does, but we can understand that he's loved....a LOT....and left....a LOT.  We can also assume that many of his relationships have not been with just women.  He's become a drug addict, smoking opium in opium dens on a consistent basis.  (Remember, Scarlett has her first real taste of strong liquor her first night home to Tara after the burning of Atlanta; she continues to enjoy a good, stiff drink every so often thereafter.  She even uses perfume to try to mask the smell of alcohol on her breath!) 

And, yes, eventually, Dorian kills a man--violently, just as Scarlett has.  Dorian uses his cane (if I'm remembering the scene correctly) while Scarlett shoots the Yankee soldier's face off.  Both cover up their murders swiftly, having the help of someone to clean up quickly so no evidence is left of the act or the body.  And neither really feels any guilt or remorse over what he/she has done.  Again, they both decide to "think about it tomorrow," but tomorrow, they have other cares to concern themselves with, so their murders are swept under the rug as if they never happened.

These are just a few ideas I have at the moment that I can think of.....more is there, but I really need to bring this a close right now.....

Dame Mitchell

Yes, I've dubbed Margaret Mitchell "Dame Mitchell."  Why?  Because she deserves a special title above and beyond Mrs. or Ms. Mitchell!  That woman was GENIUS, I tell you, G-E-N-I-U-S!!!!  After more than 20 years, I am re-reading Gone with the Wind (this won't be the only post on this book, I feel I must warn you, so be on the alert!).  I am so excited!  My mom re-read the book last fall and her excitement in re-reading the book has been catching.  I started reading my very old--and very treasured--hardback copy (thank you very much to my close childhood friend Melissa Corbett--I'm so sorry I can't think of her married name right this sec--who gave me that particular copy one night when I kept reading it rather than doing stuff with her on a sleep-over!), but the binding is broken on that copy, making it very difficult to hold on to--even more difficult than usual, considering the fact that the book is over a 1,000 pages long, you know!  So I got on the internet a week or so ago and found a used, but in very good condition, paper-back copy that I ordered.  It's finally here and I started the book last night!  Yes, I found that after two hours of reading, I had to force myself to put the book down!!!

What an incredible book!  Not only is the story one that sucks me in from the first page--the first sentence--the first word (I know why God decided not to give me a daughter---He knew I'd have to name her Katie Scarlett!!!!), but the WAY Dame Mitchell tells this story is incredible!!!  BTW:  I am fascinated by the fact that it's been more than 20 years, closer to 30 really, since I last read this book, yet I still remember the details of the story.  I can tell what's going to happen before I even read it.  And that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of re-reading it in ANY way!!!!!!!!!  I am at least surprised at how awesome a story it truly is!!!!

This book is INCREDIBLE.  (Get used to that word.  It's going to be used a lot during my posts about Gone with the Wind.)  I am absolutely astounded to note the care and detail Dame Mitchell used in the writing of this story.  Every single word is important to the story as a whole.  She doesn't stray from the story or tell the reader details that don't add to or help advance the plot.  Every detail is a detail we need at some point in time throughout this massive text.  As an older reader of the novel, I am amazed at the intrigue way she wove her story and her characters together.  Everything fits so seamlessly--so flawlessly!  And everything comes back around at some point or another.  If you read a passage thinking that it's not important because it has nothing to do with Scarlett or any of our other favorite characters, you realize later in the story that said detail WAS important because it has EVERYTHING to do with our beloved (and hated) Scarlett!!!!  Of course, reading it AGAIN makes a huge difference.  Since I remember so much about the story, I now know that the details I may have skimmed over when I was a young reader 20+ years ago, I am now seeing how they come in to play later!!!!!  Awesome!  Incredible!

And don't get me started on the LANGUAGE.....Dame Mitchell's use of GRAMMAR!!!!  That woman knew her stuff!  She was smart enough to use dialect and language that would be spoken by the INDIVIDUAL characters as respect to their class and station in life.  She was also smart enough to use subject/pronoun agreement correctly!!!!  Not even Rowling does that--at least not in the American-published texts!!!!  (Trust me; she uses subject/pronoun agreement incorrectly throughout all 7 books in the series; I'd be happy to show you my marked copies of the books if you'd like to see the mistakes!  Where, oh where, were her editors?!)  I am so impressed that I am able to focus on the story rather than on her grammatical mistakes!!!  Although, it appears that I'm still focusing on the grammar since I noticed so clearly that she uses it so effectively!!!!!  LOL!

And my favorite part????  Katie Scarlett O'Hara.  The character in literature, like Severus Snape, we love to hate to love.  Oh my.  That girl/woman is ROTTEN.  I love the line Dame Mitchell uses where she says in Chapter 1 on the very first page that Scarlett's "manners had been imposed upon her by her mother's gentle admonitions and the sterner discipline of her mammy;  her eyes were her own" (25).  It's all about the eyes, you know.  And Scarlett's are GREEN.  Such a beautiful color.  Even though I only read Chapter 1 so far, I remember that Scarlett's eyes play a huge role throughout the whole story.  Only Rhett learns to read her because of her "telling" eyes.  Everyone else is easily by Scarlett when she wants to deceive them.  Only Rhett looks into her eyes and sees Scarlett for who she truly is.....and still loves her anyway!!!!

What isn't to LOVE about this book?!

Scarlett truly is one of those characters who we are supposed to dislike because she simply is so BAD, but it's exactly her naughtiness that we love so much about her!  That and the fact that she proves to be a true "Steel Magnolia" in the face of adversity.  Where others (especially women) around her are weak, she is strong--even though she'd love to be just as weak as they all are!  She's not ruled by her conscience; if she sees something that needs to be done, she does it, consequences be d*****.  (You know I'm not a swearing woman!)  

Rhett is the same way.  He's so bad.  He's so very awful.  He even has a true whore as a mistress who he actually flaunts in front of Scarlett!  But he is MY favorite male fictional character of ALL time!  I would SOOO choose him over Ashley Wilkes any day, time, hour, minute, or second!!!!  It's his true love of Scarlett and his love for Bonnie Blue Butler, as well as Scarlett's other children from her previous marriages, that make him so sexy and desirable--and lovable!  What woman wouldn't forgive/overlook a man's indiscretions who loves his wife and child as much as Rhett obviously loved his?!  

Oh my, and I'm only on Chapter 2!!!!!!!!!!  I can't wait!  After I watch tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory, I'm going to have to read Chapter 2 before I go to bed, even though I'm really tired and have a long day tomorrow!!!!!  Dame Mitchell, I can't wait to continue enjoying your genius!!!!!!!

Work Cited

Mitchell, Margaret.  Gone With the Wind, 75th Anniversary ed. with a Preface by Pat Conroy.  New York:  Scribner, 2011.  Original publication 1936.  Pring.